Young throwers having potential take time to blossom, says India’s track and field experts

After the prestigious World Athletics U20 Championships, there is always some debate on whether promising Indian juniors will excel at the senior major competitions in the future!

India’s track and field experts believe the transition to senior groups from the junior category, particularly in throwing events, will take a minimum of three to four years.

This is because implements in senior competition are heavier than those used in the junior section. Adjusting to the new throwing implements might take three or four years, said Parveer Singh, India’s senior throwing coach from Patiala:

“In throwing events transition to senior group from junior section takes time. In my opinion it would take a minimum of three to four years to graduate to the senior group. This is due to the weight of the implements used in the competition. While implements in junior groups are light in weight, at the senior level the apparatus is heavy. Making adjustments to heavy apparatus takes several months.”

Parveer, a senior throwing coach who has been coaching elite Indian athletes for the past two decades, believes the transition period from junior to senior group should be very gradual.

“A promising junior thrower might not perform exceptionally well at the senior level because it takes time to develop muscles to adapt to heavy training loads. The growth pattern varies from one athlete to another,” added Parveer.

India’s promising women's discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon from Punjab won bronze at the 2014 World Athletics U20 Championships held in Oregon, USA. Her bronze medal winning throw was 56.36m.

Navjeet took another four years to win the medal at the senior international level. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she won bronze with a throw of 57.43m.

The 26-year-old thrower from Punjab, India, is yet to cross the 60m mark in the competition and earn a podium finish at the senior Asian Athletics Championships.

At the 2019 Doha Asian Championships, she finished fourth with a throw of 57.47m. Her personal best till date in the senior group was 59.18m, recorded during the 2018 Indian Grand Prix in Patiala.

Congratulations India for winning 3 gold,2 silver & 1 bronze at Almaty #Athletics Meet. Md Afsal(Men’s 800m),#GagandeepSingh(men’s discus)& @navjeetdhillo12(women’s discus) won gold.Mithravarun(Men’s discus) won silver; Jyothi & Anita won silver & bronze in women’s hammer throw. pic.twitter.com/dIBv36CqvA

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) July 6, 2019

Sanjay Garnaik, a former head coach of India’s junior athletics team, said early specialization, or too much too soon, curtails the progress of young athletes.

“Early specialization is very damaging. Coaches at the grassroots level should allow young athletes to compete in different events and not stick to one discipline. The training in formative years should be broad based focusing on overall development and not for one specific event,” added Sanjay Garnaik.

Promising javelin thrower Sahil Silwal from Haryana was fourth in the 2018 edition of the World Athletics U20 Championships.

#Haryana boys AbhayGupta & SahilSilwal break Record @ Asian Youth Athletics Championships; Both clinched gold & silver in Boys discus throw pic.twitter.com/g3QCmlgmUR

— Haryana Tweets ✏️ (@HaryanaTweets) May 22, 2017

However, Sahil is yet to click at the senior level.

“There are exceptions like India’s Olympic champion in javelin throw Neeraj Chopra. He won the world junior title in 2016 and five years later became Olympic champion. But by and large, it takes time to graduate to the senior level,” said Parveer.

In 2016, World Athletics, the world governing body for track and field, decided to scrap the World Youth U18 Championships from its calendar. The 2017 edition of the World Youth Championships was the lowest under-18 competition.

“This was done to avoid early burn out of young athletes. The world governing body has canceled the youth competition to avoid early specialization,” said Sanjay

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI), in its annual general meetings, has been apprising coaches to have multi-discipline training for budding athletes in the age group of 15 to 17 years.

“Multi-discipline training is more beneficial in the age group of 15 to 17 years. The young athletes should be encouraged to compete in all the events,” said chief national athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair.

According to Parveer, some athletes mature early and excel at the junior level while several athletes are average in junior group but show good results in the senior level.

“I’ve monitored Navjeet’s training in the past. She is a promising thrower. Sometimes there is stagnation in the performance. Young athletes get distracted too. Navjeet has the potential to perform at the senior level too,” explained Parveer.

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